Archive for Make a Difference

The photo above was taken from our front yard by Lucas Wiesmann, one of Kathleen’s Mock Trial students, at her annual Mock Trial Dinner last Friday, the day before the regional competition. The photo of Zeke racing down to meet the kids so beautifully represents who we are, our mission, that I’ve placed it on our home page and here on this this blog post, because both are about just that. Thank you Lucas!

Are you asking everyday what’s in it for the horse? With lifestyle? With training? With diet? With feet? With relationship? What’s in it for the horse? Not what’s in it for me? Until then you cannot even imagine how good things can be.

Clinician Ray Hunt always opened every clinic or symposium the same way. “I’m here for the horse,” he would say. “To help him get a better deal.” He and his mentor, Tom Dorrance, were the first to promote looking at a relationship with the horse from the horse’s perspective. Their question was never What’s in it for me? But always, What’s in it for the horse?

During our relatively short journey with horses we began to understand early on that What’s in it for the horse? should be the only question. And not just related to training, but to Lifestyle, Diet, Feet, the concept of Liberty, as well as Relationship. And that only by understanding all of these from the horse’s perspective could we begin to approach that illusory state of mind referred to as Horsemanship. We were discovering that our way to horsemanship could never be about how well we ride, or how many trophies we win, or how fast our horse runs, or how high he or she jumps. Read More→

It’s been fifteen years since I last watched it. It was such a very difficult shoot it’s sometimes hard to disassociate all the problems we had with every location, every shot. Back then, I was probably never able to just sit back and watch it as a movie. It was seriously difficult because there are only five minutes of people in the entire film. The rest is all animals. Bears, wolves, hawks, ferrets, bunnies, owls, and cougars. Big ones and small ones. And every one of them had to literally act on the screen just as Benji does to tell the story. To portray their feelings and emotions and intentions every bit as well as Benji does. And they do. I watched it last night as I would watch any other movie. Well, almost. I don’t come out of most movies so very proud. Proud that I had just watched a classic film unlike any I have ever seen. And there will probably never be another quite like it. Remember there was no CGI back then. No digitally painting a worried face onto an otherwise happy animal. Or vice versa. What you see is real. Just the way we shot it. It’s exciting, and amazing, and very entertaining. All of which is why I can say, unapologetically, it blew me away. It’s available on Amazon as instant video to rent or buy, and as a DVD. Disney was the distributor on this one so we get nothing when you watch. But I highly recommend it to you. Here’s the link:

Horses need free-choice grass or grass hay 24/7. And they need movement around the clock. It’s in their genetics. So we make sure our guy and gals have fresh grass and/or Bermuda grass hay (quantities of each dependent upon the time of year) around the calendar and around the clock. After every feeding, morning and evening, the hay goes into the Gator and gets distributed in what we call a hay trail, small piles strung out across the pasture, where the horses can play musical hay piles to their hearts’ content. During the winter, Read More→

“Dear Dad… The world you created lives on.”

Brandon, my youngest, sent these photos of the production office walls in New Orleans where he is directing the next Benji movie. The only caption was “Dear Dad… The world you created lives on.” Sniff. Can’t wait to visit this weekend.

With all the recent studies and research on the effect of emotional stress on physical issues, illness, and attitude we should all be listening.

But it’s not just a message to us. It’s also a message to our horses. Or rather to us about our horses.

How so?Horses don’t have my problems at the office. Or my boss. Or my bills. They don’t spend hours in traffic. Or worry about losing big clients.Where’s the stress?

If someone decided that we – you and I – and everyone else – were all going to live out the rest of our lives in the water what do you think might happen?

Excuse me?

I don’t mean “on” the water, like in a boat. I mean in the water. Up to our necks. Twenty-four hours a day. Or maybe we could get out for an hour here or an hour there, just to pay bills and do a little grocery shopping. Read More→